After Decree 350/2026/ND-CP was issued, one of the issues that many civil servants working in population work are concerned about is how to determine the level of professional preferential allowances for each position and workplace.
Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Le Thanh Dung - Director of the Population Department, Ministry of Health clarified that not all civil servants working in population work enjoy the 30% level.
Population workers, if they belong to the case of civil servants working in medical expertise at commune-level health stations, are determined to have an allowance level of 70% or 80% depending on the area according to regulations.
So who are the group of civil servants enjoying the 30% level?
Answering this question, Mr. Le Thanh Dung said that this is a group of civil servants working in population work at regional health centers and some non-business units under the Population Sub-Departments.
According to data provided by the Director of the Department of Population to Lao Dong reporters in an interview, there are currently more than 1,600 population officials belonging to this group.
According to the new regulations, only this group of population officials enjoys a 30% allowance" - Mr. Dung said.
In regional health centers and in non-business units under sub-departments, the group of subjects will receive 30%. And 70% and 80% will be enjoyed in the group of commune health stations as stipulated in the Decree," Mr. Dung emphasized.
Regulations in point a, clause 6, Article 4 of Decree 350 state the 30% allowance level applicable to "officials working in health education and population communication", but immediately after that there is an exclusion clause: "except for cases specified in clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article".
This exclusion clause, along with the definition of medical professionals in Article 3, is an important basis for determining the correct benefit level for each civil servant working in population work.
Answering about the total number of population officials nationwide today, Mr. Dung said that it is not possible to give the total number of health officials in charge of population nationwide after the process of arranging administrative units, because the specific number also depends on the personnel arrangement of each commune.
According to Mr. Dung, the current concerns mainly stem from the fact that a part of civil servants have not clearly identified themselves as belonging to which group of subjects and job positions according to the new regulations.
To determine the allowance level, first of all, it is necessary to determine which group the worker belongs to, where they work, and the specific job position" - Mr. Dung said.
According to Mr. Dung, it is necessary to recognize the new regulations in the context that the health sector currently manages many fields, including population. "The health sector today with fields such as: disease prevention, medical examination and treatment, population, social protection..., so officials working in these fields are all officials working in the health sector" - Mr. Dung said.
Before the process of arranging the organizational structure, the population system had a large force at the grassroots level.
According to the Population Department - Ministry of Health, after 5 years of implementing the Project to improve the capacity of cadres working in population work, nearly 800 civil servants, about 11,000 commune-level officials and 130,000 population collaborators in villages, hamlets, and residential groups nationwide have been trained and professionally fostered.
After arrangement, the actual number of civil servants working in population work at each level has fluctuated and there are currently no updated national statistics published.
